The Association Between College Students Experiencing Animal Companionship and Their Overall Health

Background: College students are under an enormous amount of stress which negatively affects both their mental and physical health. Consequently, a decline in all aspects of health also correlates to poor academic performance. According to the American College Health Association's Executive Summary, 28% of students reported that stress was the most significant factor negatively impacting their individual academic performance. The National Institutes of Health reports interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone). Today, it is becoming more common for college students to seek relief through animal support. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between animal companionship and the improvements in many aspects of mental and emotional health of college students. One hundred and twenty college students with animal interaction were surveyed to evaluate how their interaction with pets impact their mental and emotional health.Results: Prior to animal companionship, 42.5% of participants were very stressed, and 38.3% of participants were somewhat stressed. Additionally, 14.2% of participants were very unhappy, 22.5% of participants were somewhat unhappy, and 32.5% participants were neutral. After companionship, only 10% of participants were very stressed and 24.2% of participants were somewhat stressed. 56.7% of participants were very happy and 34.2% of participants were somewhat happy. 43.0% of the participants' physical activity had increased. Overall, 85.9% of participants reported their heath was positively affected after animal companionship. Conclusion: Based on findings of this study, having animal companionship in college has a positive effect on mental and emotional health amongst college students. Moreover, the results of this study can be utilized to implement animal therapy programs on campuses.